Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce Announces Exclusive Member Party at Best Buy
Friday, November 20
The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce has partnered with new member, Best Buy, for an exclusive Chamber member educational and shopping event on Saturday, December 5th from 8am - 10am at 3100 Lohr Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.
Best Buy is inviting Chamber members to their store to introduce the “Best Buy for Business” program, designed to “focus on technology so you can stay focused on your business.” A demonstration of the exciting and innovative A2Chamber iPhone app, released earlier this week, will also be available, including information on how to download the app. A Best Buy Apple Solutions Consultant will be on hand to answer any questions regarding Apple products. After the brief presentation the store will open with several exclusive store-wide discounts available only for Chamber members and their families, just in time for the holidays!
“We are excited to be a part of the Ann Arbor Chamber! We look forward to seeing you, the members and your families, on Saturday the 5th, building our relationships and helping to make Ann Arbor a better place to work and shop.”
Doors open at 7:30am with breakfast provided. Chamber members and their employees are welcome to bring their families and friends, including children.
The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce is a 1,200-member community non-profit organization that actively facilitates, educates, and advocates on behalf of its members through our services and programs. Chamber member offerings include numerous networking opportunities and events, educational seminars, leadership development, member-to-member discounts and access to health insurance.
AATA Board takes action toward implementing countywide transportation vision
Friday, November 20
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) Board of Directors has taken two steps forward in its effort to expand AATA’s initiative toward becoming the public transportation provider for Washtenaw County.
At last night’s meeting, the board adopted resolutions affirming AATA’s commitment to develop a countywide transportation plan and a new vision statement for the public transportation organization.
The resolutions were developed in support of a recent presentation by AATA CEO Michael Ford to the board recommending four measures designed to position AATA to take a leadership role in moving toward countywide service.
AATA Board Chair Paul Ajegba said, “Approval of these agreements is a significant step in achieving our long-held goal to implement services countywide. Our vision provides a framework and focus for AATA to reach out to the community and develop a consensus on what transportation services are needed and desired by people throughout the county.”
Ford had recommended that AATA take the following measures:
· Adopt a vision statement – A mission statement and a set of values had previously been approved.
· Reorganize AATA under Act 196 – Ford had explained that this would prepare AATA to administer funding for expanded service, including countywide transit service and a portion of commuter rail operating costs.
· Move forward on development of a countywide transit system – Ford recommended using a consultant to guide this development.
· Integrate transit projects using the expertise of staff and consultants – Ford had reported on the benefits of integrating AATA’s priorities with other transit initiatives.
“With its commitment to the development of countywide service clearly in place, AATA can now serve as a catalyst in reaching out to the wider community to determine what the transportation needs are based on the community’s values and to identify what resources are available to meet those needs,” Ford said.
AATA will retain a consultant to get the community involved in creating a community vision for countywide transportation and identifying the levels of service best suited to each area of the county.
“We want the Washtenaw County community to get the biggest return possible for their investment in public transportation,” Ajegba said. “Whether people use public transportation or not, everyone benefits from its presence in the community. Homeowners are able to retain value in their properties, business owners benefit when public transportation brings customers and employees to their locations, seniors and individuals with disabilities can enjoy increased mobility and parents can count on transit for a safe ride for their children.”
Further research is also being done on the advisability of reorganization of AATA as an Act 196 authority. In order to make the best, most informed decision, AATA has invited CEOs from other Michigan transit systems that have operated as Act 55 or Act 196 authorities, or who have made the transition from one to the other, while seeking millages, as well as legal consultants, to share their experiences. This discussion will take place as a special public meeting to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8 at AATA’s main office, 2700 South Industrial Highway in Ann Arbor.
Questions may be directed to info@theride.org or 734.973.6500.
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority was chartered in 1969 by the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a special-purpose unit of government. AATA is supported through local, state and federal funds, and fare box revenues. AATA operates 27 public transit routes, paratransit services, and carpool-vanpool matching and other transportation services to facilitate mobility throughout the urbanized areas of Washtenaw County.
Ann Arbor SPARK-managed Microloan Program Distributes $200,000 in Funds
Wednesday, November 18
The Michigan Microloan Fund Program, managed by Ann Arbor SPARK, today distributed $200,000 to four young companies, including three in Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor-based Allinnova, Procuit and The Whole Brain Group and Birmingham-based Solarflex received the funds.
The Michigan Microloan Fund Program draws funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corp.'s Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, which SPARK manages, as well as the Ann Arbor Local Development Financing Authority and Washtenaw County.
The organizations collaborated to pool $1.5 million to be provided in small amounts to established companies and startups whose financing needs are not adequately served by traditional banks.
"There’s very basic business functions they need to complete, and these microloans are really there for that kind of function," said Elizabeth Parkinson, SPARK's director of marketing and public relations.
The Whole Brain Group will use the funds to enhance its transition from a focus on providing software as a service to providing software products. The Whole Brain Group recently collaborated with Ann Arbor-based Arbormoon Software to develop an iPhone application for the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce.
Procuit, an educational software company, will use the funds to develop HomeSchoolAdvantage.com.
Allinnova will use the funds to accelerate development of a tool that would help companies assess the effectiveness of proposed partnerships with other companies. Solarflex will devote its funds to further development of new solar cell technology.
“Attracting the funding required to support a company’s growth from research and development into the commercialization of a product or service can be a challenge,” said Skip Simms, the microloans administrator and managing director of business acceleration for SPARK, in a statement. "The microloan program is invaluable support that can take a company to its next growth phase in a shorter amount of time than seeking traditional funding sources."
Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at 734.623.2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com.
Free Postage to North Pole - Main Street Area Association Hosts Santa’s Mailbox
Wednesday, November 18
Santa’s Mailbox - Downtown Merchants Send Mail Direct To North Pole No Postage Required
Merchants in the Main Street area have met and, despite some tricky economic conditions downtown, have decided to once again fund a direct mail route from Ann Arbor to the North Pole. Discussions with high level representatives from the North Pole led to the decision to keep this service in place. Negotiations included a commitment from Santa Claus to shop local. Elves admit it is impossible to produce the unique gift items available in the Main Street area.
Santa’s mailbox will be installed on Friday, November 27th on Liberty Street, in front of Organic Bliss, 117 E. Liberty Street. All letters received by December 16th will be answered. Please remember to include your return address.
The Main Street Area Association is a 501(c)6 not for profit organization whose mission is to preserve the long term success and vitality of downtown Ann Arbor. For further information on this and other downtown events go to www.mainstreetannarbor.org.
Bus service changes approved by AATA Board
Wednesday, November 18
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) Board of Directors has approved service changes to its Routes 2 and 2X bus service designed to alleviate overcrowding on Route 2 and to provide service to the new Park & Ride Lot now under construction at the Plymouth Road-US 23 interchange.
Thanks to all the comments AATA received during the public comment period, the AATA staff revised an earlier proposal, which was approved at tonight’s board meeting.
AATA Manager of Service Development Chris White said, “The service changes, which will go into effect on Sunday, January 24, will provide service to the new Park & Ride Lot, which is scheduled for substantial completion this month.”
“In addition, the Plymouth route is a very busy route, with overcrowding being a significant problem on a number of trips during peak commuting hours. These changes are designed to relieve that problem, improve on-time performance and reallocate service from a portion of the current route with very low ridership.”
Changes to the original proposal for Routes 2A and 2B are minor. All weekday trips will continue to go to and from the new Plymouth Road Park & Ride Lot. Additional trips were added at peak times to help relieve overcrowding.
The approved service changes include new designations of Routes 2 and 2X as Routes 2A, 2B and 2C as follows:
Route 2A – Plymouth/Green North
· All weekday trips will continue to go to and from the new Plymouth Road Park & Ride Lot.
· No change in service for the portion of the route between the Blake Transit Center and the Plymouth-Nixon intersection.
· Between the Plymouth-Nixon intersection and the Plymouth Park & Ride lot, buses will serve Nixon and Green roads before going to the Park & Ride.
· No change in service frequency or hours of service.
· During evenings and weekends, will serve both the Green Road and Plymouth Road Park & Ride Lots.
Route 2B – Plymouth/Georgetown
· All weekday trips will continue to go to and from the new Plymouth Road Park & Ride Lot.
· No change in service for the portion of the route between the Blake Transit Center and the Plymouth-Nixon intersection.
· Between the Plymouth-Nixon intersection and the Plymouth Road Park & Ride lot, buses will serve Plymouth Road after going to the Park & Ride.
· No change in service frequency or hours of service.
· During evenings and weekends, will serve both the Green Road and Plymouth Road Park & Ride Lots.
The primary change from the original proposal involves the current Route 2X and the original proposal for a new Route 23. These will be combined into a single Route 2C.
Route 2C – Plymouth/Green South
For current Route 2X riders:
· Route 2C will continue to provide service between Plymouth Mall and Kerrytown/downtown via the Broadway Bridge and on to Central Campus.
· Service will operate every 30 minutes during peak hours and every 60 minutes midday.
· Route 2C will operate in both directions (to and from downtown).
· One additional peak-hour trip will be added.
· Service will be extended to the Green Road Park & Ride Lot.
· The route will no longer serve the existing bus stop at Traverwood/ Huron Parkway.
· Buses will serve every stop along the route.
For current riders of Route 2 south of Plymouth Road (Green Road south to Glazier way, Glazier Way and Earhart Road):
· Route 2C will continue to provide service to and from downtown using Washington Street, but will not directly serve the Blake Transit Center.
· Service will operate every 30 minutes during peak hours and every 60 minutes midday.
· Service will not go directly to the U-M Medical Center; transfers to the U-M Intercampus Route can be made at the Green Road Park & Ride Lot.
· Route 2C will not operate on weekends. Instead, Saturday afternoon service will be provided all the way to Earhart Road on Route 22.
· Routes 2A and 2B will provide service as far south as the Green Road Park & Ride Lot on evenings and weekends.
· South of Baxter Road, midday service frequency will be reduced from every 30 minutes to every 60 minutes.
Information on all AATA routes and schedules is available at www.TheRide.org or 734.996.0400.
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority was chartered in 1969 by the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a special-purpose unit of government. AATA is supported through local, state and federal funds, and fare box revenues. AATA operates 27 public transit routes, paratransit services, and carpool-vanpool matching and other transportation services to facilitate mobility throughout the urbanized areas of Washtenaw County.
Ralph E. McDowell to Succeed Larry R. Shulman as Chairman of Bodman LLP
Wednesday, November 18
Detroit-based law firm Bodman LLP has announced that Ralph E. McDowell will succeed Larry R. Shulman as chairman of the firm’s executive management committee on January 1, 2010.
Shulman, 56, will have served as chairman of Bodman for 10 years. He will remain a partner with the firm and will continue his full-time law practice as a member of Bodman’s Banking Law group.
McDowell, 48, has been involved in firm management for years, serving on Bodman’s Executive Committee and chairing the Associate Recruiting and Development Committees.
“We believe the time to make this change is right, with Bodman in a position of stability and strength,” Shulman said. “Ralph’s knowledge of the firm and leadership skills will ensure a smooth transition, and the firm will benefit from the fresh perspective he will bring to meeting new challenges.”
McDowell has spent his entire legal career with Bodman. A graduate of Kalamazoo College and the University of Detroit Law School, McDowell joined the firm as a summer associate in 1985. He returned as an associate attorney following his graduation from law school in 1986 and has been with Bodman continuously since that time, becoming a partner in 1992. McDowell focuses his legal practice in debtor-creditor rights and commercial bankruptcy work, representing clients in the financial services and automotive industries, among others.
Under Shulman’s leadership, Bodman has experienced steady growth. When he took over as chairman, the firm had 112 lawyers; today there are more than 140. While most of the growth has been internal, Bodman’s stability and reputation for client service have also attracted experienced lateral partners from other local firms in recent years, leading to the expansion of its health care, labor and employment, tax, and corporate practices, among others.
“Our growth philosophy has been to enhance our core strengths and expand practices our clients need the most,” McDowell said. “I don’t expect that philosophy to change.”
“For example, we haven’t seen the need to open offices in other states to serve our clients better. We serve many clients on a national or international basis, with the work done here in Michigan. That gives us a cost advantage over firms of similar capability in many major markets.”
During Shulman’s tenure as chairman, Bodman has also grown its reputation for client service – reflected in the recognition the firm and its partners have received from internationally recognized rating services – and relocated its headquarters to signature, state of the art offices at Detroit’s Ford Field.
Strong leadership, smooth leadership transitions and sound management practices are Bodman hallmarks. McDowell will become only the third chairman to lead Bodman since the firm established the position in 1975. Shulman was preceded by the late Richard D. Rohr, who served as chairman for 25 years.
Bodman’s stability and strong leadership over the years have done more than just contribute to the firm’s bottom line, McDowell noted.
“Strong and stable leadership have allowed the partners to focus their energies on serving clients, not on dealing with internal problems,” he said.
That stability has also allowed Bodman’s chairmen to maintain full-time law practices while guiding the firm’s business affairs, which is unusual for a business law firm of its size. During his tenure as chairman, Shulman not only maintained his full-time practice but achieved recognition as Michigan’s leading banking lawyer. The prestigious journal Chambers USA has named Shulman a “star performer” in banking law, the only lawyer in Michigan to be so recognized. He also perennially appears in The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyers, the latter publication also naming him as one of Michigan’s Top 100 attorneys. In 2008, The Best Lawyers in America named him the Detroit Banking Lawyer of the Year.
McDowell, who also intends to continue to practice law full time while chairman, has been honored by various publications as one of Michigan’s leading bankruptcy specialists, including Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyers, which also named him one of the state’s top 100 attorneys
As chairman, McDowell will lead Bodman’s Office of the Executive which manages the firm’s day to day business affairs. Other members currently include partners David M. Hempstead, Robert J. Diehl, Jr., Susan M. Kornfield, and David P. Larsen.
“One of the most challenging aspects of taking on this role is succeeding Larry Shulman,” said McDowell. “Larry has done a phenomenal job of guiding the firm through some of the toughest economic times that we and our clients have faced. I’ll benefit greatly from taking over with the firm and the partnership in sound shape and from having Larry remain a big part of this firm for many years to come.”
Bodman is one of Michigan’s leading business law firms with 142 lawyers and four offices. Bodman has a diverse client base that includes individuals and businesses in a variety of industries, with emphasis on financial services, automotive, real estate and construction, high tech, manufacturing, health care, and other sectors. Chambers USA ranks Bodman as Michigan ’s leading banking and financial services law firm and as one of the state’s top firms for corporate/M&A, employment, real estate and commercial litigation. Bodman is one of only five law firms in Michigan to achieve the highest possible ranking for commercial litigation services from the prestigious journal Benchmark Litigation.
Safety Pays as Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce Members Earn Workers Compensation Dividends of $106,275
Wednesday, November 18
Over 80 businesses will share a $106,275 premium dividend thanks to safe work practices and their participation in a workers compensation group dividend program available through the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce.
The dividend amount returned is based on each participant’s premium costs and range from $18 to over $12,500, with an average dividend of over $1,300.
In addition to dividend opportunities, the Ann Arbor Area Chamber group dividend program offers participating businesses a five-percent discount on their workers compensation insurance premium rates.
While keeping people healthy and injury-free is vital in its own right, it is also an important factor in the ability to earn a dividend. Safety at work leads to fewer injuries and fewer workers compensation claims.
"It’s a fact – safety pays. A safe work environment is not only great for employees, it’s great for the bottom line," says Beth Goodman, Accident Fund’s group program consultant. “We’re proud to be able to present the Chamber with this dividend for members in this program.”
Accident Fund’s Loss prevention consultants work with policyholders on safe work practices and teach employee safety training. The company also offers an online "tool box" where policyholders can link to federal and state workplace safety websites.
“Encouraging safety in the workplace while offering a Chamber-only plan that can provide real money back is definitely a win-win situation,” said John Hansen, Interim President of the Ann Arbor Chamber. “The Accident Fund Workers Compensation Program is one of many innovative strategies we have put in place to help our members more effectively control their costs.”
The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce serves more than 1,200 members in Southeast Michigan. In addition to this program the Chamber offers numerous member benefits including access to health care through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, discounts on office supplies through Office Depot, discounts on Comcast Business Services and much more. For more information visit www.annarborchamber.org or call Jennifer Coleman at 734.214.0106.
The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce is a 1,200-member community non-profit organization that actively facilitates, educates and advocates on behalf of its members through our services and programs. Chamber member offerings include networking opportunities and events, educational seminars, leadership development, member-to-member discounts and access to health insurance.
Headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, Accident Fund Insurance Company of America is one of the nation’s leading workers compensation insurers with more than $3 billion in assets. Founded in 1912, Accident Fund is rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Accident Fund Insurance Company of America and its subsidiaries (Accident Fund National, Accident Fund General, United Wisconsin Insurance Company and CompWest) are licensed in 48 states plus the District of Columbia*. More information can be found at www.accidentfund.com.
*Licensing per state varies by subsidiary.
City and District Library are Honored with National 2009 Voice of the People Award
Tuesday, November 17
For the second year in a row, The Ann Arbor District Library and City of Ann Arbor recreation services are the winners of the national Voice of the People Awards for Excellence, presented by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the National Research Center (NRC) at its annual national conference on Sept. 13, 2009. Other jurisdictions accepting the 2009 Voice of the People Awards for Excellence are: Bettendorf, Iowa; Crested Butte, Colo.; Decatur, Ga.; Highland Park, Ill.; Lebanon, N.H.; Needham, Mass.; Novi, Mich.; Oakland Township, Mich.; Palo Alto, Calif.; Park Ridge, Ill.; Plano, Texas; Suwanee, Ga.; and Williamsburg, Va.
The award honors the jurisdictions nationwide with the highest rated services among all The National Citizen Survey™ 2008 participants. To win for excellence, the rating for service quality must be one of the top three among all eligible jurisdictions and must reside in the top 10 percent among the over 500 jurisdictions in the NRC database of citizen surveys.
The award is a result of positive responses from nearly 1,000 Ann Arbor residents (a 32-percent response rate), who shared their opinions of local services and amenities when ICMA and NRC conducted the 2008 National Citizens Survey™. With 92 percent of responses rating quality of life as “excellent” or “good”, City of Ann Arbor recreation services and the Ann Arbor District Library were especially commended for excellence.
Offering recreation opportunities for every interest, age and ability is a likely reason the city’s recreation services received high marks and are being recognized as among the best in the country. The city’s parks and recreation services staff appreciate the importance for the city’s recreation offerings be as diverse as the needs of its residents. The City of Ann Arbor has 157 parks and over 2,088 acres of parkland. Some of the more unique recreation features include:
• Canoe liveries
• Indoor and outdoor pools
• Indoor and outdoor ice arenas
• Dog parks
• Dirt bike track
• Disc golf course
• Farmers market
• Nationally recognized golf courses
The rapidly rising library use by individuals at all library locations illustrates the importance of the Ann Arbor District to the community. With increased convenience in accessing its many materials and services as a primary objective, the Library has seen material circulation continue to rise at a rate 13 percent over the last fiscal year to an unprecedented record of over 9 million items circulated. Books, DVD’s, CD’s and other popular material for all ages are currently being checked out at unparalleled rate.
Visits to every library building in the system and attendance at the many and varied library events also have skyrocketed. Many more consumers are also visiting the library online at www.aadl.org. The website logged over 50 million page views last year.
The City of Ann Arbor 2008 National Citizen Survey™ results can be viewed at www.a2gov.org/government/city_administration/communicationsoffice/Pages/CityofAnnArbor2008CitizenSurvey.aspx. For more information about NRC, visit www.n-r-c.com/services/nationalcitizensurvey.html.
Ann Arbor has 114,000 residents, spans 27.7 square miles, and was named the No. 1 Healthiest Hometown in the U.S. by AARP The Magazine in 2008. Other notable recognitions include: No. 27 of the top 100 U.S. cities to live in by CNN/Money Magazine in 2008, as well as the fourth smartest city in the U.S. by Forbes Magazine. The city’s mission statement reads: The city of Ann Arbor is committed to providing excellent municipal services that enhance the quality of life for all through the intelligent use of resources while valuing an open environment that fosters, fair, sensitive and respectful treatment of all employees and the community we serve.
From the 1866 founding of the Ladies' Library Association to the 2008 opening of the new Traverwood Branch, the Ann Arbor District Library has provided a multitude of collections, services and programs to the community. The existence of the Ann Arbor District Library assures public ownership of print collections, digital resources, and gathering spaces for the citizens of the library district. We are committed to sustaining the value of public library services for the greater Ann Arbor community through the use of traditional and innovative technologies.
Ann Arbor District Library Named One of the Top 5 Star Libraries in the USA by Library Journal for the Second Year in a Row
Tuesday, November 17
The Ann Arbor District Library is again one of the top libraries in the country, according to the survey by Library Journal, America’s Star Libraries, published in its November 15 issue.
Of the 7,268 libraries evaluated for the report, only 258 (3.5 %) received stars for their achievements. AADL was one of ten of 98 libraries nation-wide in its budget bracket (libraries with an annual budget of 10M – 29.9M) to receive the highest possible overall ranking of 5 stars. In Michigan, only two libraries received stars - AADL with its 5-star ranking, and Canton Public Library which again earned 3 stars in its budget bracket.
The survey was based on data reported to the Institute of Museum and Library Services for 2007. Since this data was collected, AADL’s service statistics have continued to rapidly rise.
THE LIBRARY JOURNAL REPORT
Traditionally, many public library decision-makers have focused on circulation alone as the performance indicator for a successful library. Today, the full range of services now includes electronic access, facilities use, and programming.
The LJ Index of Public Library Service, sponsored by Baker & Taylor's Bibliostat, is based on 2007 data for:
• circulation transactions per capita, including checkouts and renewals;
• visits to library buildings per capita;
• computer sessions per capita;
• program attendance per capita,
as reported by local libraries to their state library agencies and compiled by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Top libraries are organized into star tiers, much like the Michelin guide, for example, with five, four, or three stars. Libraries are scored in relation to other peer libraries based on total operating expenditures rather than on community population.
AADL STATISTICS AND INCREASES
Based on the data reported to IMLS in 2007, AADL, with a service population of 155,611 had:
• 45.7 circulation transactions per capita
• 10.1 visits to library buildings per capita
• 1.8 computer sessions per capita
• 0.3 program attendees per capita
Since the 2006-2007 fiscal year, growth has continued at AADL:
• Annual circulation transactions have increased 30 % to 9,260,596
• Visits to library buildings rose 8.9 % to 1,713,595
• Event attendance increased 27.8 % to 58,752
• Computer sessions have decreased slightly (3 %) 265,749
AADL now boasts:
• 59.5 circulation transactions per capita
• 11 visits to library buildings per capita
• 1.7 computer sessions per capita
• .4 program attendees per capita
For more information about Library Journal’s America’s Star Libraries, visit libraryjournal.com. For more information about the Ann Arbor District Library and its services, visit aadl.org.
Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce Announces Availability of A2Chamber iPhone App
Monday, November 16
The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the immediate availability of its A2Chamber iPhone application to boost the visibility of local businesses. The A2Chamber iPhone application extends the reach and accessibility of its member-2-member (m2m) discount program with an innovative mobile format.
The release of the A2Chamber iPhone application is the development accomplishment of The Whole Brain Group, LLC and Arbormoon Software, Inc. in partnership with the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce. The demo of the iPhone application on the Chamber’s website is powered by TorranceLearning’s eClickMap technology, and provides an interactive view of the features of the iPhone application.
Released just in time for the holiday shopping season, the A2Chamber iPhone application allows businesses to offer new discounts every week, while simultaneously providing users with convenient access to discount information “on the go.” Due to the unique partnership between all four organizations, the A2Chamber iPhone application is now available to the public as a free download from the iTunes App store and a business listing in the m2m directory is a complimentary service provided to Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce members.
The A2Chamber iPhone application features business listings by category, as well as discount details with click-through links to visit the business website, email or dial the business, and view a Google map of the business location. Members may update their discount offers electronically through the Chamber’s website http://www.annarborchamber.org and the new information will appear weekly as an update on the iPhone.
“This is a great example of the Chamber’s philosophy of ‘together we profit,’” stated Jennifer Coleman, director of member benefits for the Ann Arbor Chamber. “These innovative businesses combined forces with the Chamber to provide a great new service and value to our members!”
For more information and to view a demo of the new A2Chamber m2m discount iPhone application visit: http://www.annarborchamber.org.
The Whole Brain Group, located in downtown Ann Arbor, is a 100% woman-owned, web application development company dedicated to helping its clients work smarter and greener. The company applies its philosophy of Integrated Thinking to develop balanced and sustainable websites, mobile and web applications; growing and adapting these systems with the client's evolving needs.
TorranceLearning is an elearning design and development company that builds custom online training courses for large organizations to teach their employees, customers, or members when they can’t all be in the same place at the same time to attend a class. TorranceLearning combines instructional design, graphic design, audio and video production, and some technical magic to make learning engaging and effective.
Arbormoon Software, Inc. specializes in working with clients to building custom iPhone applications which showcase their brands. The company has years of experience working with a wide variety of clients, and looks forward to working with new clients to bring their brands into the mobile economy.
The Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce is a 1,200-member community non-profit organization that actively facilitates, educates and advocates on behalf of its members through our services and programs. Chamber member offerings include networking opportunities and events, educational seminars, leadership development, member-to-member discounts and access to health insurance.
Menopause The Musical® Playing for the first time at the Michigan Theater
Monday, November 16
It’s time to kick-up those high heels. The Off-Broadway show Menopause The Musical® will be playing at the Michigan Theatre for two days only, January 26th & 27th.
Set in a department store, where four women with seemingly nothing in common but a black lace bra meet by chance at a lingerie sale. The all-female cast makes fun of their woeful hot flashes, forgetfulness, mood swings, wrinkles, night sweats and chocolate binges. A sisterhood is created between these diverse women as they realize that menopause is no longer The Silent Passage! It is a stage in every woman’s life that is perfectly normal!
Menopause The Musical® is the work of writer and producer, Jeanie Linders. The laughter-filled 90-minute production includes parodies from the classics of the ‘60s and ‘70s and ‘80s.
Michigan Theater
603 East Liberty Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
January 26th and 27th
Performances at 8pm
ON SALE NOW
Tickets: $40; $45; $50. Group discounts available.
Purchase by phone: (800) 745-3000 or on-line www.TicketMaster.com
Menopause The Musical® has launched a women’s movement that has superseded entertainment and become a must-see event. It is estimated that nearly 11 million women have attended a performance since the 2001 opening in Orlando, Florida. Inspired by a hot flash and a bottle of wine, writer and producer Jeanie Linders created the show as a celebration of women who are on the brink of, in the middle of, or have survived “The Change”. "Most women know intuitively that every other woman is experiencing hot flashes or night sweats,“ says Linders. "There is always a close friend or two who can sympathize or identify with her, but when they are sitting in a theatre with hundreds of other women, all laughing and shouting‚ 'That’s me! That’s me on stage!' they know what they are experiencing is normal. They aren’t alone…or crazy. It becomes a sisterhood." Since its first performance, the show has evolved as a grassroots movement of women who deal with life after 40 and all the challenges that result from the mental, physical, and spiritual freedom of being a woman.
Menopause The Musical® has entertained audiences across the country in more than 250 cities and in a total of 14 countries. Internationally, the show has visited Australia, Canada, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, United Kingdom, Singapore, South Africa, and South Korea. Each week women of all ages and stages find their spirits lifted by the show’s light-hearted look at menopause. No longer is it The Silent Passage!
www.MenopauseTheMusical.com
www.MichTheater.org
Don’t Terminate That Plan – Hardship Relief Available for Retirement Plan Contributions
Monday, November 16
In today’s difficult economic climate, business owners are closely scrutinizing every dollar of expense on their profit and loss statement in hopes of finding expenses that can be cut back. After renegotiating contracts, laying off employees and gaining control of overhead costs, oftentimes even more needs to be scaled back. As a result, more employers are being forced to consider terminating their retirement plans. While all expense items are on the table with regard to cuts, an employer-sponsored cash or deferred arrangement (CODA) under section 401(k) or 403(b) is often a valuable tool with regard to recruiting and retaining highly qualified individuals. However, depending on the financial health of the business, few alternatives may seem available.
Relief on the Way
Realizing the dilemma that many employers found themselves in, whereby they did not want to terminate their plan, but could not afford the additional expense, the Internal Revenue Service stepped in on May 15, 2009. The IRS issued regulations that permit an employer sponsoring a CODA under section 401(k) or 403(b) to reduce or suspend safe-harbor, non-elective contributions during a plan year that the employer incurs a substantial business hardship, rather than terminate the plan.
Qualified CODAs must meet various requirements, including either the nondiscrimination test outlined in Section 401(k)(3), or another alternative as discussed in Section 401(k)(11), (12), or (13). The nondiscrimination test compares the average percentage of compensation deferred by highly compensated employees with the percentage deferred by those who are not highly compensated. If the percentage for highly compensated employees is too much higher than others, action must be taken to address the discrepancy.
If an employer does not satisfy the nondiscrimination test for purposes of their plan, a safe-harbor method can be put into place by which the employer makes either matching or non-elective contributions to all non-highly compensated employees. By doing so, the employer’s plan is treated as satisfying the nondiscrimination rules. A non-elective contribution would, for example, be if an employer contributed 3% of each non-highly compensated employee’s gross wages, up to a certain level, regardless of whether an employee contributes to the CODA or not.
Under the regulations, a plan that reduces or suspends safe-harbor non-elective contributions will satisfy nondiscrimination requirements as long as: (1) All eligible employees are provided a supplemental notice of the reduction or suspension; (2) The reduction or suspension is effective no earlier than the later of 30 days after eligible employees are provided the supplemental notice and the date the amendment is adopted; (3) Eligible employees are given the opportunity prior to suspension or reduction to change their elections; (4) The plan is amended to provide that the nondiscrimination test will be met for the entire year in which the reduction or suspension occurs, using the current year testing method; and (5) The plan satisfies the safe-harbor non-elective contribution requirement with respect to safe-harbor compensation paid through the effective date of the amendment.
Substantial Business Hardship
It is important to remember that these regulations do not allow for any business to simply cut their non-elective contributions at will in an effort to reduce expenses. Instead, the employer must have incurred a “substantial business hardship.”
Under Internal Revenue Code Section 412(c)(2), the factors that are taken into consideration in determining whether a temporary substantial business hardship is present are (but are not limited to):
1. The employer is operating at an economic loss,
2. There is substantial unemployment or under-employment in the trade or business and in the industry concerned,
3. The sales and profits of the industry concerned are depressed or declining, and
4. It is reasonable to expect that the plan will be continued only if the waiver is granted.
Based on the above factors, one can see the severity of the situation that must be present in order for an employer to have incurred a substantial business hardship. Both the particular employer, as well as the financial health of the industry as a whole, must be in a deteriorating state with expectations that the plan will be eliminated without a waiver.
Weathering the Storm
While times are currently tough, the economy, and the majority of businesses, will eventually rebound. The value that an employer-sponsored cash or deferral arrangement provides its employees is significant. Instead of terminating an entire plan, see if your business can weather this economic storm by reducing or temporarily suspending non-elective safe-harbor contributions. Employees will understand the temporary nature of the action, while knowing this benefit will be back in place once business conditions improve.
By David Jewell, CPA
David Jewell, CPA, is a tax manager at Yeo & Yeo, CPAs & Business Consultants, 710 E. Milham in Kalamazoo, Mi. He is a member of the firm’s Tax Team and conducts federal tax update seminars. He holds a master of science in taxation from Grand Valley State University. For more information, contact Mr. Jewell at (269) 329-7007 or davjew@yeoandyeo.com.
Adaptive Materials Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary with Service Awards, Recognition
Friday, November 13
Adaptive Materials, the leading developer and manufacturer of portable power through fuel cell technology, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. At the anniversary luncheon, an awards ceremony recognized long-time employees for their service to the company.
“Adaptive Materials has enjoyed phenomenal growth and success over our 10 year history, and a large part of our success is attributable to our team,” said Michelle Crumm, Adaptive Materials’ chief business officer. “Our evolution from fuel cell developer into manufacturing took the company into uncharted waters, and thanks to our team, it’s been smooth sailing. We are excited to see where Adaptive Materials will be in 10 years.”
Adaptive Materials team members who have served the company for five years or more were awarded a vacation package of their choosing. In a show of commitment to the state where Adaptive Materials has grown over the last 10 years, team members were awarded a custom vacation package to any destination in Michigan.
The service awards celebrated at Adaptive Materials 10 year anniversary were:
5 years
Matt Hoffman, controller
Mike Gorski, controls engineer
Miguel Tovar, manufacturing engineer
Jason Krajcovic, electrical engineer
Corey Patterson, technician
6 years
Rick Martin, manufacturing engineer team lead
Steve Ross, manufacturing technician
7 years
Tim LaBreche, director of technology
Jon Rice, product application engineer
About Adaptive Materials, Inc.
Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Adaptive Materials, Inc. is the first company to develop, demonstrate and deliver a portable, affordable, and fuel flexible solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. The company offers 50, 150 and 250-watt fuel cell systems that are powered by globally available and power dense propane, butane and LPG. Adaptive Materials’ fuel cell system provides portable power to the United States Armed Forces as well as industries including leisure, remote monitoring, and medical devices. For more information, visit www.adaptivematerials.com.
New Enterprise Forum Panel Covers Marketing and Sales Strategy, Tactics and Implementation
Friday, November 13
New Enterprise Forum's November meeting, “Sales & Marketing: Do You Know the Difference?,” will be a discussion of sales, marketing, and how these activities tie into your business plan and the customer buy cycle. The event takes place at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 19, at the Holiday Inn North Campus, 3600 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The participants for this event include:
Jennifer Baird – Co-Founder & CEO of Accuri Cytometers, Inc. Jennifer has a wide range of experience in strategic management, business development, sales and marketing, and operations and process improvement. She is currently leading venture-backed Accuri through dramatic growth. She co-founded the company in 2005, completed development of their first product in less than three years, and has raised $27M in equity capital. Previously, she was a VP at medical device company Integrated Sensing Systems, Inc.
Dennis Blanchette – President & CEO, CrimeCog. Dennis has more than 20 years of experience in sales and management. For the last ten years, he has specialized in business development and executive management for information technology companies in southeast Michigan. As chief operating officer of Wise Solutions, Inc. of Plymouth, Michigan, Dennis had a crucial role in growing the company almost fourfold in less than five years, and in leading the company through an acquisition by Altiris, Inc. in 2004.
Our moderator will be Deb Lewis, Director of Marketing, Global Strategy and Services at Infor, an enterprise software company. At Infor, Deb is responsible for global marketing programs and related services that drive awareness, consideration, and purchase of the company's software and services.
Showcase Presentation: Each month, NEF highlights emerging companies and provides them a Showcase Presentation. This month, our presenters will be Paul Horst of Algal Scientific Corporation, which is developing bioremediation methods for decontaminating municipal and industrial wastewater which also yield raw materials for bioenergy production, and Tekisha Lee of DEEN, a start-up social network that serves as a one-stop location for minority individuals, colleges, and companies, interactively providing assistance with work or education-related issues.
Business Introductions/Open Forum: The evening's agenda includes Business Introductions/Open Forum, during which attendees have the opportunity to make a concise, 10-second pitch for themselves, their company, product/service, or need.
ABOUT NEF
Through its hands-on work with entrepreneurs, NEF has been planting the seeds for Michigan's economic prosperity for over two decades. NEF serves Michigan entrepreneurs by linking them with management expertise, venture partners, business services, capital, and other critical resources. NEF also provides free coaching teams who assist entrepreneurs with investor presentations and business planning in preparation for fundraising meetings. For information, visit www.NewEnterpriseForum.org.
O’Sullivan Receives CFE Credential
Thursday, November 12
Yeo & Yeo, CPAs & Business Consultants, is pleased to announce that Thomas A. O’Sullivan, CPA, CFE, a manager in the firm’s Ann Arbor office, has been accredited as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). A CFE is a specialist educated and trained in the prevention, detection and deterrence of fraud. All CFEs must meet the rigorous criteria for admission to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Over 24,000 CFEs are actively fighting fraud today.
Mr. O’Sullivan provides audit and tax planning and preparation services. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Eastern Michigan University, and resides in Saline.
Yeo & Yeo, P.C. is a certified public accounting and consulting firm that serves individuals, businesses, not-for-profit, education and government entities. Over 200 employees in nine offices throughout Michigan provide professional accounting business solutions. Other Yeo & Yeo affiliates include Yeo & Yeo Computer Consulting, LLC and Affiliated Medical Billing. Offices are located in Saginaw (headquarters), Alma, Ann Arbor, Bay City, Flint, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Marlette and Midland.
Harvey Ovshinsky Launches Screen Writers’ Support Group
Monday, November 9
Award-winning filmmaker and story teller Harvey Ovshinsky will lead a six-session workshop, “How to Complete Your First Movie Script in Six Months,” in Ann Arbor and Birmingham beginning in January.
This support group for aspiring or frustrated screenwriters will meet once a month, beginning January 4 at the Birmingham Community House and January 25 at the Jewish Community Center of Ann Arbor. The series cost $325. To register in Ann Arbor, call 734-971--0990. To register in Birmingham, call (248) 644-5832. For more information about either group call (734) 996-8011.
Participants will receive a sample script, a complete bibliography of screenwriting books, publications and contests, information about software for formatting scripts, and the latest version of Ovshinsky’s popular handout, “The Ten Most Important First Rules of Storytelling.”
“We’ll teach the nuts and bolts, but the real challenge for new writers is getting feedback and guidance while you’re actually writing your first screenplay,” Ovshinsky said. “That’s the hard part and that’s where we come in.” Writers will receive direction, motivation and personal attention, both from Ovshinsky and each other as they share their works-in- progress with other each other.
The goal is that, for those participants who stick with the program, they complete a first draft of a finished screenplay by time they “graduate” in June.
Ovshinsky’s distinguished career in transmedia storytelling has earned him the reputation as a “story whisperer.” He has taught screenwriting and documentary filmmaking at Wayne State University. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan University, Oakland University, Madonna University, Schoolcraft College, and Macomb County Community College
Ovshinsky wrote the award-winning script, “The Keyman.” His Movie-of-the-Week script, “PJ and the Dragon,” was represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and optioned by Longbow Productions (“A League of Their Own”).
Ovshinsky and his story consulting and video production company, HKO Media, have been awarded broadcasting's highest honors including a national Emmy, a Peabody, a duPont - Columbia University Award, and the American Film Institute's Robert M. Bennett Award for Excellence.
“For me, this work is deeply personal as well as professional,” Ovshinsky said. “I believe each one of us has the power to light up the world with our stories. The trick is to find a way to fan the flames of our creativity so that others can see the light that shines inside.”
AATA Press Release: Thanksgiving Service Hours
Friday, November 6
The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will not operate regular fixed-route bus service, A-Ride, or senior shared-ride services on Thursday, November 26, 2009 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Most regular bus, A-Ride and senior services will resume on Friday, November 27, with the following exceptions:
There will be no service on Routes 1U, 2X, or the Route 33 EMU Shuttle.
Service will not operate on Routes 4C or 4D trips. Routes 4A and 4B will pull into U-M Hospital and the Medford/Manchester stop.
On Routes 4A and 4B, the only trips that will operate are those leaving the Blake Transit Center at 18 and 48 minutes past the hour and the Ypsilanti Transit Center on the hour and half hour. Route 36 bus service from Wolverine Tower will be reduced to service every 30 minutes at 15 and 45 past the hour.
The AATA main office and the Blake and Ypsilanti Transit Centers will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and will reopen on Friday, November 27.
Passengers may take advantage of AATA’s Holiday Ride shared-ride service on November 26 for just $5 a person. Seniors and persons with disabilities with an AATA Senior or ADA identification card may ride for $2.50. Individuals with a go!pass may ride for $1.00.
Holiday Ride service operates only within the city limits of Ann Arbor. To schedule a Holiday Ride trip, call 734.528.5432.
Bus route and schedule information is available on AATA’s Web Site at www.TheRide.org and at 734.996.0400.
Michigan Theater Honors US Military Personnel With Free Admission for Movies on Veteran’s Day
Friday, November 6
Once again, the Michigan Theater is pleased to recognize the contributions to our country by members of the U.S. military. On Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, military veterans and active personnel will be admitted FREE to all regular film screenings.
In addition, veterans are eligible for a discount price of $7.00 per ticket all year round.
Movies that day include THE GOOD SOLDIER at 4:30 pm and COCO BEFORE CHANEL at 7:00 and 9:30 pm.
THE GOOD SOLDIER follows the journey of five combat veterans from different generations of American wars as they sign up, go into battle, and eventually develop their views about what it means to be a good soldier. 79 minutes. Not rated.
COCO BEFORE CHANEL portrays the formative years of the legendary couturier who embodied the modern woman and became a timeless symbol of success, freedom and style. French with subtitles. 105 minutes. Rated PG-13.
This program is made possible by a generous grant from the Merton & Regina Allen Memorial Fund. The primary purpose of the fund, established through the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, is “to support programming, events and special initiatives for United Sates Armed Forces veterans, with preference to disabled veterans and those who served in action, at the Michigan Theater (a Code Section 501(c)(3) organization).”
Please visit the Michigan Theater web site for a complete schedule with show times: http://michtheater.org
About the Michigan Theater
The Michigan Theater is Ann Arbor’s historic center for fine film and performing arts. Winner of the 2006 Outstanding Historic Theatre Award from the League of Historic American Theatres, it is located in downtown Ann Arbor at 603 East Liberty Street, across the street from Borders Books and Music. Regular movie prices are $9.00, $7.00 for students, seniors and US veterans, and $6.50 for Michigan Theater members. Please visit the theater’s website at http://michtheater.org. The 24-hour information line is (734) 668-TIME. Our daily film program media sponsors are WEMU 89.1 FM and 107oneFM.
Byrnes Introduces Amendment to Allow Same-Sex Marriage
Friday, November 6
Washtenaw lawmaker calls for equality and protection of civil rights
Speaker Pro Tempore Pam Byrnes ( D-Lyndon Township ) today introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives her plan to amend the state constitution to allow same-sex marriage in Michigan .
"This really boils down to treating all people with the dignity and respect everyone deserves," Byrnes said. "So many of us were raised to treat others how we'd like to be treated – it's about time we start actually doing that. Last time I checked, the Golden Rule didn't say 'treat others how you'd like to be treated, unless they are gay or lesbian.' "
Byrnes' plan amends Michigan 's Constitution to allow same-sex marriages and allows Michigan to recognize same-sex marriages from other states. The plan also contains a religious exemption that allows clergy the right to refuse performing or certifying same-sex marriages.
Fifteen states currently have some level of protection for the rights of same-sex couples. Same-sex marriages are not legally recognized in Michigan because voters passed a constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage and other same-sex unions in 2004. However, public opinion has swung quickly in recent years, especially in reaction to stories of same-sex couples being denied access to a partner's health care benefits or visitation rights to their loved ones at hospitals.
"Same-sex couples should not be denied the joys and responsibilities that come with making a lifetime commitment to each other," Byrnes said. "The Michigan I know is not a place that would deny visitation rights to a dying loved one or access to health care just because of someone's sexual orientation. It's wrong to arbitrarily treat certain groups of people like second-class citizens and it's time to update our laws in Michigan to make sure no one is treated that way."
Main Street Area Association presents Window Display Contest Debut and Sale November 13 – 19
Friday, November 6
Twenty five businesses in the Main Street area have taken the challenge to come up with creative new window displays. This is a no holds barred contest; fun, interesting, complicated, crazy, there are no guidelines, there are no rules!
The contest kicks off on Friday, November 13th with entertainment on the sidewalks and a big sale. Participating merchants will be offering 20% off something or everything or a free gift with purchase. The sale will continue through Nov. 19th.
Voting will take place on the Main Street Area Association website, www.mainstreetannarbor.org, from November 13th through Midnight Madness, December 4, 2009. Vote and enter to win a $100 Main Street Area Association gift certificate.
This event is a BIG, think Godzilla big, deal for three great reasons:
1. New and interesting window displays to enhance your experience downtown.
2. Stuff will be on sale!!!
3. Supporting local businesses is BIG - it’s crucial right now to keep our local businesses going which in turn makes downtown Ann Arbor the incredible place that it is.
This week long event is made possible by a generous grant from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.
For further information and a list of participating businesses go to www.mainstreetannarbor.org.
Whole Foods Market® Offers Two Chances to Win a FREE Holiday Meal
Tuesday, November 3
What:
Whole Foods Market locations across the Midwest are helping make the holidays a little better. Thirty-two stores, from Omaha, Nebraska, to Detroit, Michigan, are holding sweepstakes where people can nominate families to receive a FREE holiday dinner for four people. The sweepstakes will have two rounds of entries to enable people to nominate those deserving to win either a Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday meal. Each store will provide four families with a traditional holiday feast with all the fixings. The meals will include:
10-12 lb Turkey
Harvest Salad
Maple-Roasted Autumn Squash Soup
Country Mashed Potatoes
Traditional Herb Stuffing
Green Beans with Roasted Shallots & Fresh Herbs
Roasted Cinnamon Dusted Butternut Squash
Fresh Cranberry Sage Compote
Turkey Gravy
Traditional Dinner Rolls (one dozen)
How o Enter:
Entry forms (including rules and regulations) are available at in-store kiosks at all Midwest Whole Foods Market locations, and at each store’s website at wholefoodsmarket.com. (All entries will be made online; no paper entry forms.)
When:
Thanksgiving Sweepstakes
Entries accepted: Nov. 2-13
Winners announced: Nov. 16-19
Christmas Sweepstakes
Entries accepted: Dec. 1-11
Winners announced: Dec. 14-18
Where:
Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market
990 West Eisenhower Parkway 3135 Washtenaw Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 997- 7500 (734) 975-4500
About Whole Foods Market®
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com), a leader in the natural and organic foods industry and America’s first national certified organic grocer, was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” in 2008 by Health magazine. The Whole Foods Market motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures the company’s mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to its 53,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 11 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2008, the company had sales of $8 billion and currently has more than 275 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods Market, Fresh & WildTM, and Harry’s Farmers Market® are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP, LP. Wild Oats® and Capers Community MarketTM are trademarks owned by Wild Marks, Inc.
December 2009: The Lens of Impressionism Continues, Day With(Out) Art Special Event
Tuesday, November 3
EXHIBITIONS
The Lens of Impressionism: Photography and Painting Along the Normandy Coast, 1850–1874
through January 3, 2010
This exhibition advances a new argument for the origins of what was called “the new painting,” namely that a unique convergence of forces—social, artistic, technological, and commercial—along the Normandy coast of France dramatically transformed the course of photography and painting (as well as of the region itself). Within this framework, the invention of the camera and the development of early fine art photography in that particular setting will be seen as the specific catalysts that brought about a new approach to painting.
The project will showcase paintings, photographs, and drawings by some of the most treasured artists in the Western canon—Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas among them—as well as pioneering photographers such as Gustave Le Gray and Henri Le Secq. Inspired by the scenic Normandy coast of France, these works—including representations of beach scenes, seascapes, fishing villages, resorts, and the region’s pastoral beauty—will be brought together with archival materials related to early tourism and regional expressions of French nationalism from popular culture for an innovative examination of the impact of the then-new medium of photography on ideas of image making, the recording of passing time, the capacities of painting, and the rise of Impressionism itself.
Organized by UMMA, this exhibition is made possible in part by the Florence Gould Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the University of Michigan Health System, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice President for Research, School of Music, Theatre & Dance, the Center for European Studies-European Union Center, and Department of History of Art, Masco Corporation, Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund, the University of Michigan Credit Union, and the family of Dr. Raymond F. Cunningham in his memory. The Lens of Impressionism would not have been possible without the generosity and cooperation of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and features exceptional loans from the BnF and the Musée d'Orsay. Following its showing in Ann Arbor, the exhibition will travel to the Dallas Museum of Art.
(Un)Natural History: The Museum Unveiled
through December 6, 2009
Richard Barnes's series of photographs Animal Logic examines the role the museum plays in our understanding of ourselves through the acts of collecting, preservation, and display. Images from this large body of work include photographs of the collections from the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Comparative Anatomy in Paris, the Canadian Museum of Natural History, and the San Francisco Academy of Science. (Un)Natural History focuses primarily on the natural history museum and by extension collecting institutions in general, providing a kind of behind-the-scenes look at museum practice and display.
This exhibition will coincide with the UM LS&A Theme Semester Meaningful Objects: Museums and the Academy. UMMA’s presentation is projected to serve as part of a three-venue project highlighting different aspects of Barnes’s work in partnership with the UM Institute for the Humanities—who have selected Richard Barnes as the Paula and Edwin Sidman Fellow in the Arts for 2009—and the Cranbrook Institute of Science (in partnership with Cranbrook Art Museum) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
UMMA Projects: Heather Rowe
through January 3, 2010
Heather Rowe’s art occupies a space at the intersection of sculpture, architecture, and installation, and her hybrid, fragmentary constructions derive their aesthetic frisson from their refusal to adhere to the norms of any one discipline. Although her works are often freestanding, Rowe’s practice is keenly engaged with the formal language and phenomenological experience of architecture. Demanding to be experienced in real time and space, Rowe’s installations work synergistically with their particular contexts to question the ways in which we experience different kinds of institutional and domestic environments and the humble materials out of which they are constructed.
The sense that Rowe’s work exists as neither wholly one thing nor another is heightened by her attention to transitional spaces: corridors, stud-walls, windows and doorways. Interior and exterior space seem to collapse into one another as the raw materials of construction—modular units of drywall, lumber, glass, and metal—are combined with more decorative elements. Interstitial spaces reveal swatches of carpet or wallpaper, while shards of mirror incorporate the surrounding space in a fragmented patchwork of reflections.
For her UMMA Projects exhibition, Rowe has conceived of a single work that will occupy the whole of the Museum’s Irving Stenn Jr. Family Project Gallery, responding in equal measure to the physical character of the space and to the sense of heightened visibility it engenders.
This project is made possible in part by UMMA’s New Visions Venture Fund.
The Image Wrought: Historical Photographic Approaches in the Digital Age
November 7, 2009 through January 17, 2010
In sharp contrast to the broad embrace of digital technology, a growing contingent of contemporary photographers is revisiting 19th-century photographic approaches. These photographers, whose aesthetic goals cannot be met through the seamless resolution of the pixel, are returning with increasing frequency to archaic processes such as the daguerreotype (which was almost extinct by 1860), the cyanotype, and the tintype. Wrought from silver, gold, mercury and iron, the resulting images have a strong physicality and presence and seek out the particular technical challenges of these difficult and often unstable media. Drawn from the holdings of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin, this exhibition of some 80 works (including period cameras and equipment to make the processes in question more transparent) makes use of the Center’s expansive photographic collections to present contemporary images alongside vintage examples of their 19th-century predecessors. These pairings allow us to examine how contemporary photographers view the past—some relying on an almost sentimental continuity, others contrasting with radically fresh imagery.
The Image Wrought: Historical Photographic Approaches in the Digital Age is a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. This exhibition is made possible in part by the Friends of the University of Michigan Museum of Art and the Doris Sloan Memorial Fund.
The Eye of the Beholder: European Drawings and Prints from the Pulgram-McSparran Collection
December 19, 2009 through March 14, 2010
The Museum of Art has an outstanding collection of the graphic work of early 20th-century art, particularly the work of the German Expressionists. Complementing this rich array of works are the important prints and drawings that have come to the Museum as part of the Pulgram-McSparran gift. Ernst Pulgram amassed an important collection of European graphic art ranging from Piranesi and Rodin to the German Expressionists and Giacometti. This exhibition follows an earlier exhibition drawn from the Pulgram-McSparran collection that featured drawings by Viennese artists Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.
The present exhibition includes drawings and prints by artists such as George Grosz, whose Hogarthian critique of post-WWI Germany still sears the mind; Ernst Kirchner, a leading figure in Die Brücke and the German Expressionist movement; and Oskar Kokoschka, whose vigorous style is characteristic of the later generation of Expressionists. Among the group of works are less typical but lyrical landscapes by Kirchner, Lovis Corinth, and Erich Heckel. This second installation of the Pulgram-McSparran Collection features the social commentary, bold graphic imagery, and delectation of the female form that is embodied in the work of outstanding European artists from roughly 1920 to 1950.
This exhibition is made possible in part by the Charles H. & Katharine C. Sawyer Endowment Fund
Guided Tours
The New UMMA
Saturday, December 5, 1 pm
Sunday, December 6, 1 pm
Saturday, December 12, 1 pm
Sunday, December 13, 1 pm
Saturday, December 19, 1 pm
Sunday, December 20, 1 pm
Sunday, December 27, 1 pm
(Un)Natural History: The Museum Unveiled
Wednesday, December 16, 12 pm
The Image Wrought
Saturday, December 12, 2 pm
The Lens of Impressionism
Sunday, December 6, 2 pm
Wednesday, December 9, 2 pm
Sunday, December 13, 2 pm
Saturday, December 19, 2 pm
Sunday, December 20, 2 pm
Sunday, December 27, 2 pm
MUSEUM INFORMATION
UMMA, 525 South State Street, Ann Arbor, 48109-1354
Information: 734.763.UMMA; www.umma.umich.edu
Galleries open Tue, Wed, Sat, 10 am to 5 pm; Thu, Fri, 10 am to 10 pm; Sun, noon to 5 pm; Building open seven days a week, 8 am to midnight. Closed July 4, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
Admission is free.
Find yourself inside UMMA and the new Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing.
Menlo Innovations LLC Celebrates the Vital Role Entrepreneurs Play in Innovation, Job Creation and Economic Recovery as a Partner in Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009
Monday, November 2
This November, young people around the globe will get together to change the world. To celebrate the vital role entrepreneurs play in innovation, job creation and economic recovery, Menlo Innovations LLC is participating in Global Entrepreneurship Week on Nov. 16 – 22, 2009 to inspire, connect, mentor and engage young people.
To celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, Richard Sheridan – Menlo Innovations LLC President and CEO – will be conducting a special tour of the Menlo Software Factory™ in Historic Kerrytown®. During the tour Sheridan will describe how he became the Forbes "Hire Yourself" cover story for all those choosing entrepreneurship over unemployment, and how Menlo has become one of Inc. 500's fastest growing privately held firms in the US after just six years in business.
Co-founded in 2008 by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the United States and Make Your Mark, a business-led government-backed campaign in the United Kingdom, Global Entrepreneurship Week will connect young people through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and others will participate in a host of activities that include virtual and face-to-face events, large-scale competitions and intimate networking gatherings.
In 2009, the Week is estimated to exceed the 3 million people and 8,800 organizations around the globe that participated in the inaugural Global Entrepreneurship Week in 2008. Already, more than 650 organizations in more than 80 countries have signed up.
“We read every day of the large companies shrinking and losing market share. Lost in these stories are the entrepreneurial ventures that are adding one, two, and three jobs all across our state. It is in these thousands of small efforts where economic recovery can be found,” said Sheridan, “We must do everything we can to rekindle the entrepreneurial spirit that once made this region the envy of the world.”
Sheridan continued, “Entrepreneurs can often learn from one another. We hope to offer our visitors a peek inside our world and a chance to ask questions most pressing to them. By sharing what we’ve learned through our eight years of business, we may provide the creative insights necessary to move other entrepreneurs from idea to reality.”
Event Details
The tour will begin at 5:00 pm and lasts approximately 2 hours. The tour will be conducted at the Menlo Software Factory™, located at 410 N. Fourth Avenue, Third Floor, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Preregistration is appreciated: http://www.menloinnovations.com/registration/MiGEW.htm
About Menlo Innovations LLC
Menlo Innovations is a custom software design & development firm located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The founders were inspired by the creative and productive work environment demonstrated at Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park, New Jersey “Invention Factory.” Like Edison, the driving factor behind everything Menlo does is to create useful and marketable products that deliver real business value. As the name suggests, Menlo Innovations is constantly generating and testing new approaches to solve the challenges with which the team is presented. With the strength of the collaborative ideas generated, the Menlo Software Factory™ team has not yet faced a problem they could not successfully solve together. For more information, visit www.menloinnovations.com, and follow @menloprez and @menloinnovation on Twitter.
About Global Entrepreneurship Week
With the goal to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity, Global Entrepreneurship Week will encourage youth to think big, turn their ideas into reality, and make their mark. From Nov. 16-22, 2009, millions of young people around the world will join a growing movement to generate new ideas and seek better ways of doing things. Tens of thousands of activities are being planned in dozens of countries. Global Entrepreneurship Week is founded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Make Your Mark campaign. For more information, visit www.unleashingideas.org, and follow @unleashingideas on Twitter.
Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare. Through its research and other initiatives, the Kauffman Foundation aims to open young people's eyes to the possibility of entrepreneurship, promote entrepreneurship education, raise awareness of entrepreneurship-friendly policies, and find alternative pathways for the commercialization of new knowledge and technologies. It also works to prepare students to be innovators, entrepreneurs and skilled workers in the 21st century economy through initiatives designed to improve learning in math, engineering, science and technology. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo. and has approximately $2 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.kauffman.org, and follow @kauffmanfdn on Twitter.
Make Your Mark
Make Your Mark is the campaign to give young people in the UK the confidence, skills and ambition to be enterprising - to have ideas and make them happen. Run by Enterprise Insight, which was founded by the four leading UK business membership organisations – the British Chambers of Commerce, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors. Their Director-Generals sit on our board, which is chaired by entrepreneur Peter Jones, from BBC’s Dragon’s Den. It is supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and endorsed by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. www.makeyourmark.org.uk
University of Michigan vs. Ohio State University Blood Battle: Blood Drive Competition is in its 28th Year
Monday, November 2
This year marks the 28th Annual Blood Battle between University of Michigan and Ohio State University. The Battle is a blood drive competition prior to the big game Saturday, November 21, 2009, beginning November 5. This year Ann Arbor hosts the game and hopes to keep the trophy in the Big House, which will be presented to the winner at half time. Last year Michigan won by more than 300 pints, a crushing blow to the buckeyes considering OSU has approximately 35,000 undergraduates to U of M’s 25,000 undergraduates.
The Blood Battle is sponsored by the American Red Cross Blood Services Region of Southeastern Michigan, along with Michigan’s Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and the Washtenaw County American Red Cross Club at the University of Michigan.
Appointments are encouraged and can be made at www.givelife.org, Sponsor Code: goblue. Appointments can also be made by calling 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. All of Ann Arbor is encouraged to come out and help beat the buckeyes!
Any person wishing to donate must be in good health, 17 years old, weight 110 lbs., and not have donated blood in the last 8 weeks (or 56 days). If you aren’t feeling well, wait a day or two and donate when you feel better. After all, you have two weeks to support Michigan by giving the gift of life this November. For more in-depth criteria on donation eligibility, visit www.givelife.org.
We want every donor to join the battle safely, so remember these tips: hydrate—be sure to drink lots of fluids before and after your donation; eat foods rich with iron like fish, poultry, or raisins; wear a shirt with sleeves that can easily be pushed up above the elbow; and avoid strenuous activity after donation. Stick around for a few minutes after you donate to enjoy some complimentary snacks and make sure you are feeling 100%. For further tips about donating, visit www.givelife.org. Go Blue!
Briarwood Salvation Army Volunteer Opportunity
Monday, November 2
Betty Brigade is partnering with Briarwood Mall and the Salvation Army to support members of our community who are in need during the holidays, and we could use your help!
Betty Brigade will be facilitating a volunteer-run coat and bag check at Briarwood Mall during the holiday shopping season, with all donations going to support the Salvation Army. We will also serve as a collection point for toys and clothing donated as part of the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program. We will be set up throughout the holiday shopping season, from Thanksgiving through Christmas, in Briarwood Mall’s Relaxation Station outside of Von Maur. In addition to the Angel Tree and coat check services, this area will feature musical performances, gift wrap services, and free samples from The Melting Pot and other local businesses.
As you can see, this is going to be quite an event, and we are going to need a lot of volunteers! The coat check will be open during Von Maur’s hours (10-9 Monday through Saturday, 11-6 on Sundays), and we would like to have 1-2 volunteers working 3 and 4 hour shifts during these times. You will be able to advertise your organization during the times that your members are volunteering. A single volunteer for a couple of hours will make a huge difference; or, if you are looking for a bigger commitment, we can arrange for your organization to schedule a regular time slot during the four weeks of the event.
To learn more about this great opportunity to give back to our community this holiday season, or to schedule volunteer hours, please contact me, Emily Lind, at emily@bettybrigade.com. Feel free to take a look at the Betty Brigade, Briarwood Mall, and Salvation Army websites to learn more about us. You can also check out our organizations on Facebook and Twitter.
Thanks for helping Betty Brigade, Briarwood Mall, and the Salvation Army spread some cheer this holiday season!
